Serve on a City Board or Commission

The City of Owatonna encourages community members to attend public meetings and serve on any of its 12 boards and commissions. Several board or commission members’ terms will expire April 30. Applications are being accepted to fill the following seats:

Fire Code Board of Appeals and Civil Service Board
Human Rights Commission
Public Library Board

Click here to apply online at owatonna.gov before April 15. For additional information, contact Jeanette Clawson, Administrative Coordinator, at 507.774.7341. Details about Owatonna’s boards and commissions is available online. Meeting times, agendas and notices of all public city meetings are available at owatonna.gov.

2025 Local Board of Appeal and Equalization Meeting

April 15 at 6 p.m. City Council Chambers

The purpose of this meeting is to determine whether property within the City of Owatonna has been properly valued and classified by the assessor. If you believe that the value or classification of your property is incorrect, please contact the Steele County Assessor’s Office to discuss your concerns. If you disagree with the valuation of classification after discussing it with the Assessor’s Office, you may appear before the City of Owatonna’s local Board of Appeal and Equalization. The board will review your property valuation and may make corrections. Generally, you must appeal to the local board before appealing to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization which meets in June.

Fire Chief Ed Hoffman (left) shows local media representatives around the 100-plus year old fire station.

City Hosts Media Tour of Public Safety Facilities

Police Chief Jeff Mundale shows local media representatives a training area that was once a bank vault for the building's previous owner.

Police Chief Jeff Mundale (right) shows local media representatives a training area that was once a bank vault for the building's previous owner.

As part of its ongoing efforts to inform the community about the facilities planning process for several projects being considered through its Long Range Asset Plan, the City of Owatonna recently invited local media representatives for a behind-the-scenes tour of its police and fire facilities.

Aging infrastructure, space limitations and critical upgrades to meet current public safety standards are just a few of the challenges the current public safety facilities are facing. The media tour demonstrated the pressing need to address these challenges and provide a cost-effective, long-term solution that enables police and fire personnel to work more efficiently, effectively and safely to better serve the community through the construction of a new joint public safety center.

Fire Chief Ed Hoffman and Police Chief Jeff Mundale led the tours, explaining how the challenges impact daily operations and the well-being of first responders and those they serve. City Administrator Kris Busse shared information about the planning process underway for building a new combined public safety center for the fire and police departments.

To learn more about the media tour and the City’s request for $1.5 million in state bonding support, read “Owatonna officials pushing for $1.5M state funding to build a new public safety center” in the Owatonna People's Press. For ongoing updates about this and other Long Range Asset Plan projects, visit owatonna.gov.

Tornado Drill Day is April 10, 2025

As part of Severe Weather Awareness Week, Tornado Drill Day is April 10. During the drills, local sirens and all National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios will sound with a simulated tornado warning. These drills provide an opportunity to review emergency plans and procedures and practice emergency drills at work or at home.

The first drill occurs April 10 at 1:45 p.m. and the second drill at 6:45 p.m. The outdoor warning sirens will sound and NOAA weather radios will activate with the weekly test code. If real severe weather is a significant threat on or before drill day, the National Weather Service's offices may postpone the simulated watch and warning to Friday.

Library Events & Activities

Library History Tour April 10

Local historian Nancy Vaillancourt will be conducting a tour of Owatonna Public Library highlighting OPL's history on Thursday, April 10, at 6:30pm. The tour will last about an hour.

OPL Book Club April 14

The OPL Book Club will meet again on Monday, April 14. Join us at either 1:00pm or 6:00pm to discuss Ann Napolitano's Hello, Beautiful.

Parks & Recreation Programs

There are programs and activities offered for community members of all ages, ability levels and interests. Check out these upcoming programs and visit owatonna.gov to register or to see what else is being offered.

Let’s Play Baseball!

Adaptive Baseball at Manthey Park Miracle Field

For ages five and up, adaptive baseball league pick-up style focusing on having fun and playing baseball. Equipment will be provided at 6:30 p.m. from June 11 through August 6. The fee is $48.

Machine Pitch

For current second graders, in multiple locations Mondays and Wednesdays June 9 through July 30. The fee is $75.

Player Pitch

For current third and fourth graders, in multiple locations Tuesdays and Thursdays June 10 through July 31. The fee is $90.

Coach Pitch

For kindergarteners who have played one year of T-ball or current first graders, in multiple locations Tuesdays and Thursdays June 10 through July 31. The fee is $54. Register before April 15!

T-ball

For current kindergartners who are first-time players and age five, in multiple locations Mondays June 9 through August 4. The fee is $48. Register before April 15!

Parking Reminders

The City of Owatonna Public Works and Police Departments would like to remind citizens that even though odd-even parking restrictions have ended for the season, year-round parking restrictions remain in effect. Please take note of the following parking restrictions to avoid being issued a citation or having your vehicle towed. Clearing streets of vehicles allows crews to sweep and complete other maintenance as needed. Remaining mindful of the parking ordinance helps keep motorists and pedestrians safe! Refer to City Ordinance 72.06 for additional information.

Ordinance 72.03 PARKING LIMITED

No vehicle shall be parked or left unattended on any street, public parking lot or alley within the corporate limits of the city for 48 hours or more unless otherwise posted.

Ordinance 72.06 PROHIBITIONS ON STOPPING AND PARKING

Please remember that parking is not permitted in the following circumstances:

On a sidewalk or within a boulevard area
In front of a public or private driveway
Within an intersection
Within ten feet of a fire hydrant
On a crosswalk
Within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection
Within 30 feet upon the approach to any flashing beacon, stop sign or traffic-control signal
Between a safety zone and the adjacent curb or within 30 feet of points on a curb immediately opposite the ends of a safety zone unless otherwise indicated
Within 50 feet of the nearest rail of a railroad crossing
Within 20 feet of the driveway entrance to any fire station and on the side of a street opposite the entrance to any fire station within 75 feet of said entrance when properly sign-posted
In a yellow zone
Alongside or opposite any street excavation or obstruction when such stopping, standing or parking would obstruct traffic
On any bridge or other elevated structure
At any place where official signs prohibit stopping
On the roadway side of any vehicle stopped or parked at the edge or curb of a street

Wastewater Treatment Facility Biogas

The Owatonna Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF) was originally constructed in 1987 with anaerobic digesters to process the biosolids generated from the wastewater. One of the primary benefits of the anaerobic digester is the production and capture of biogas, which has been burned in an engine to generate electricity since 1988. The power produced was then placed onto the Owatonna Public Utilities’ (OPU) power grid to offset the facility’s own electrical demand. Due to its age and updated emission standards, the engine generator needed to be replaced.

As part of the current WWTF expansion, the design team and City evaluated options for processing the captured biogas. This included updating the generator engine or upgrading the biogas to natural gas standards. Once biogas was upgraded to natural gas standards, the gas would then be injected into OPU’s natural gas system. To upgrade the biogas to natural gas standards, contaminants like sulfur, siloxane, carbon monoxide and nitrogen components need to be removed. The City elected to implement the biogas upgrading system because of the higher revenue generated from selling a renewable natural gas versus converting biogas to electrical energy.

To assist with this process of selling upgraded biogas as a renewable energy, the City hired Eco Engineers from Des Moines, Iowa to conduct a market analysis to determine the best avenue for the City to sell the renewable energy. The analysis will evaluate both open and transportation markets while also considering the cost and labor to participate in either market. Some of the cost considerations are compliance requirements to maintain participation in each market, the infrastructure needed to qualify for each market and the manpower and maintenance to document biogas quality and quantity. The City is anticipating start-up of the biogas upgrading system this fall.

City Leadership

The Owatonna City Council meets at 7 pm on the first and third Tuesday of each month at City Hall, 540 West Hills Circle. Contact Council Members with questions, suggestions and concerns. Agendas, Minutes and Council Packets are available in the Agenda Center on the City’s website: https://owatonna.gov/agendacenter.

Doug Voss (At Large) 507.475.0550 douglas.voss@owatonna.gov
Dan Boeke (At Large) 507.363.1932 daniel.boeke@owatonna.gov
Nathan Dotson (Ward 1) 507.3631189 nathan.dotson@owatonna.gov
Don McCann (Ward 2) 507.456.6383 donald.mccann@owatonna.gov
David Burbank (Ward 3) 507.451.3166 david.burbank@owatonna.gov
Kevin Raney (Ward 4) 507.456.3116 kevin.raney@owatonna.gov
Brent Svenby (Ward 5) 507.363.1136 brent.svenby@owatonna.gov
Matt Jessop (Mayor) 507.363.1980 mayor@owatonna.gov

City Meetings This Week

The public is invited to attend the following City meetings this week. Unless otherwise specified, these meetings are held at City Hall, 540 West Hills Circle. Agendas, meeting minutes and City Council packets are available in the Agenda Center on the City’s website: https://owatonna.gov/agendacenter.

April 15: City Council Study Session at 5:30 p.m. in Chambers of the Charles S. Crandall Center. Topics discussed will include updates on a potential site for a Public Safety Center. If time permits, there will also be updates about various boards and commissions. The session will be followed by the Steele County annual Local Board of Appeal and Equalization at 6 p.m. and then a City Council Meeting at 7 p.m. which includes a public hearing for comments on the modification of Development District 3 and establishment of TIF District #3-18.

April 16: Economic Development Authority meeting at 4 p.m. at the Degner Regional Airport, 3400 West Frontage Road.

Helpful Links

Licenses & Permits

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Employment

Stay Informed

Events: Access calendars to view upcoming events.
City News Releases: View news releases published by the City of Owatonna.
Newsletters: The City of Owatonna publishes a weekly newsletter called Owatonna Update. Current and past newsletters are available here.
Social Media: Stay connected with the City of Owatonna by following these social media sites.
Spotlight Videos: Videos produced by the City of Owatonna.

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April 9, 2025